Santa comes to downtown by streetcar for 2018 Holiday Lights Festival

Milwaukee officially ushered in the 2018 holiday season with the city’s Christmas tree celebration and Holiday Lights Festival on November 15, events that took place on both sides of the Milwaukee River that once divided the early settlements of Juneautown and Kilbourntown in the 1840s.

Staff from the Department of Public Works decorated the 105th annual Christmas tree, positioned across from City Hall by the Frank P. Zeidler Municipal Building, with more than 5,000 lights and 150 ornaments. Milwaukee’s Christmas tree lighting is the second oldest celebration of its kind in the United States, behind New York City.

This year’s holiday tree is a 37-foot Colorado Blue Spruce, donated by Daniel and Calina Badillo who are residents in the 11th Aldermanic District. The illumination switch was flipped again this year by Mayor Tom Barrett, with the help of area children and Santa Claus.

After the tree lighting, Pere Marquette Park hosted the kick off of the 20th annual Milwaukee Holiday Lights Festival which runs until January 1, 2019.

About The Author

Former Creative Director and Photojournalist for the Milwaukee Business Journal, Lee brings his years of international experience as an award-winning foreign correspondent in Asia and Europe. Lee proudly uses MCTS as the exclusive mode of transportation for covering all his news reports.